Monday, November 16, 2015

Must Read Christie Blatchford: "Love Isn't the Only Response"

"Just a couple of weeks ago, a friend sent me a long piece which appeared in Vanity Fair this August."

"It began with this sentence: “How can anyone be allowed to paint a swastika on the statue of Marianne, the goddess of French liberty, in the very center of the Place de la Republique?”

"Written by the great American journalist Marie Brenner, the story describes the riot which happened there on Saturday, July 26, 2014, when a pro-Palestinian demonstration (complete with some black and white ISIL banners and the Marianne defacer) culminated with thousands of protesters chanting “Mort aux Juifs! Mort aux Juifs!,” or death to the Jews."

"The story was about much more, of course, but its central theme was that this riot, or one of the others in what Brenner called the summer of hate, was the tipping point for so many French Jews and sent record numbers leaving the country for Israel."

"Maybe there’s something there that Canadian officials can use in screening prospective refugees: How do you feel about Israel? How would you like to live among Jews? Ever chanted mort aux juifs?"

"Jews are the canaries in the coal mine for humankind."

"If l’amour est la réponse, then loving Jews is one of the unshakable conditions."